Dot on the international maritime route, Cochin (now Kochi), was a rewarding destination for explorers, traders and chroniclers around the world from time immemorial. Some came to trade in its hottest product, spices, some to escape persecution back home, and a few others for peaceful living with a comfortable career to boot. From royalty down to the rabble, all found a warm welcome in abundance. Cochin surfaced from the sea as the favoured port of call in the mid-14th century. As a cluster of marshy islets, not all of which hospitable enough for habitation, it wasn’t much of a landmass to crow about. But slowly and steadily it started growing into a city that is presently closer to being a metropolis.